


Under (Afghani) Skies

by avengersasssemble



Series: Growing Up Together [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Steve Rogers, Relationship Discussions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-30 19:24:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18321662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avengersasssemble/pseuds/avengersasssemble
Summary: In every universe, we find ourselves here, where we're meant to be; Or, the last step toward Infinity.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starksnack](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starksnack/gifts).



> You need to read part one (Down By The Schoolyard) to get the full experience of this fic.
> 
> Unbeta'd. Comments and kudos are really appreciated. Ask me questions over @avengersasssemble on tumblr.com.

The helicopter couldn’t get there fast enough. It was all Steve could do to not throw up everywhere as he carefully peeled his husband out of the smoldering wreckage, careful of the machinery lodged in his chest. He had to call Bucky over to have him help lift Tony up out of the sand, trying to prevent him from getting any more hurt than he already was. Of course, Bucky was talking at a mile a minute, angrily ranting while Steve cradled Tony in his arms, silently praying that the chopper moved faster.

“Why the hell didn’t Fury tell us that we were looking for _Tony?_ ” Bucky said, his voice a rough growl that Steve knew was a result of the man trying not to cry, “Why didn’t we know sooner? Tony’s the one building weapons and sort of being the wealthiest man this side of the hemisphere, why the _fuck_ didn’t Fury—”

“Buck,” Steve pleaded softly, not taking his eyes off Tony as he threaded his gloved fingers through his husband’s sandy hair. “Please.”

“Right. Sorry. Good news is, I can see the chopper from here. Can you handle him?”

Steve nodded, lips trembling as he leaned down to kiss Tony’s dirty forehead, not caring that he smelled of sweat, blood, and urine. God, if it weren’t for the pulse that he could feel under his fingertips, he’d be more than a right royal wreck. Still, he was afraid to cuddle Tony any closer, not wanting to aggravate the light in his chest.

“C’mon, get him up. The others have got whatever the hell this thing is, I’m sure Tony will want it back when he wakes up,” Bucky said, resting his hand on the back of Steve’s neck, “Up, soldier. We need to get him to a hospital.”

Steve nodded jerkily, and with Bucky’s help, stood up in the sand, carrying Tony bridal-style in his arms. They moved together toward the approaching helicopter, shielding themselves and Tony from the incoming onslaught of blown sand. With the help of the medics, they managed to get Tony strapped to a spinal board, hefting him and themselves onto the copter for extraction. Steve trusted his team and SHIELD to take care of the crash site, allowing him to fully focus on his husband, looking a little more lifeless with each passing second. He gently took Tony’s hand and squeezed it, only to be interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

“He’s my husband, I’m not leaving him,” Steve said sharply, unable to mask the swell of emotion in his voice.

“I wasn’t going to ask you to.”

Steve looked up and choked, finding Rhodey collapsing onto the floor next to him, clearly shaken up. Without letting go of Tony, he drew the other man into a one-armed hug, grateful for the momentary comfort.

“What’re you doing here? You’re Chair Force, not evac,” he asked, managing a small smile at Rhodey’s choked-up laugh.

“We knew he’d gone missing about three months ago when he had traveled to the area to show off one of his newest missile designs. We got the ransom video not long after,” Rhodey explained, pulling away from Steve to wipe at his face, “I did everything I could, pulled all my strings—Pepper’s been manning the fort, trying to keep the company afloat while we looked for him. We didn’t have anything to go on and had nearly given up when we got a call from SHIELD asking for me to ride on an evac mission. I knew as soon as I stepped on this rig that I was going to get Tony, either dead or alive.”

“Alive, let’s stick to what it is,” Bucky said, sitting himself down on the other side of Tony, “He’s still kicking. He really doesn’t know how to kick it, does he?”

“No, not at all,” Rhodey said, a hint of a smile on his lips.

“If it helps, we didn’t know until we—until—” Steve drew in a shaky breath and squeezed Tony’s hand again, wanting nothing more than for his husband to wake up.

“Steve. He’ll be okay. I—I don’t know what kind of fresh hell he’ll be in, but we’ll be there for him,” Bucky said, earning a nod from Rhodey, “Once we’re wheels-down I’ll call in the cavalry.”

“Would either of you have guessed that a bunch of us went into the armed forces?” Rhodey said, changing the subject to try to put Steve at ease.

“Too poor not to, dude.”

The two men continued to talk, but their voices became background noise as Steve stared down at Tony, tracking his eyes twitching under his lids. It was a good sign, a sign that Tony was _alive_. He moved down to the light jutting out of Tony’s chest, running through the hundreds of possibilities as to what possible function it could serve. Whatever it was, it was too close to important things for him to want to fiddle with it, so instead, he caught the attention of one of the paramedics watching his vitals, motioning toward one of the large first-aid kits.

Silently, he scooted the kit over to his side, only letting go of Tony’s hand for a moment so he could rifle through the kit. Once he’d found the tools he wanted, he moved up to Tony’s head, using alcohol wipes to start cleaning the grime from his face. His hair would have to be washed at the hospital, but Steve ignored it, shakily dragging the wipe over Tony’s face until his skin was clean. Tossing the used wipe aside, Steve picked up small suture scissors, carefully leaning in to start trimming his beard. Sure, it wouldn’t have clean-cut edges, but he knew how important the facial hair was, even if Tony never admitted it to him.

“Steve?” Bucky asked softly.

Steve refused to look up, brushing off the excess hair once he was done the trim. Satisfied, he put the scissors away and retrieved more wipes, taking to his new task like a new mission: anything to focus on to push out the crushing fear that threatened to send him into an inconsolable panic. He started cleaning up Tony’s neck, then ran down his arms and hands, carefully cleaning under his fingernails before picking up the scissors again to carefully trim his nails down. If it weren’t for his superhuman ability to remain steady, he probably would have cut Tony’s fingertips off.

“Steve,” Bucky tried again.

“Let him do it. He needs it,” Rhodey murmured.

He had just finished up Tony’s other arm when the intercom turned on, announcing their entrance into European airspace and detailing their descent to a hospital in England.

“Captain, we need to prepare Mr. Stark for arrival,” one of the paramedics said, reaching out a hand to help Steve up.

“Stark-Rogers. His name is Tony Stark- _Rogers_ ,” Steve growled, standing up to his full height to tower over the paramedic.

“Stand down, soldier. He’s trying to help Tony, not offend your marriage,” Rhodey said, putting a hand on Steve’s chest to push him toward the seats, “We need to get strapped in and then we’ll get him somewhere safe, okay?”

It took both Bucky and Rhodey to convince Steve to sit down and put on his seatbelt. They sat on either side of him, tense and ready to throw their backs out if they were going to have to keep him seated. Steve knew this; he recognized their movements, saw how they both leaned in a little closer than necessary, their hands tight and ready for a fight. Looking over at Tony, strapped to a board and unmoving, he knew that he had no qualms with breaking either man’s arms in order to get to him if something went wrong.

Rhodey seemed to understand and relaxed as they descended, but Bucky stayed ramrod-straight, even going so far as to put his hand on Steve’s knee. He squeezed lightly, trying to help ease Steve’s nerves as the plane jolted during landing, causing him to flinch forward and rip the seatbelt out of the chair.

“Okay, okay, it’s okay, Steve. See? His vitals are good, everything is okay,” Bucky said quickly, putting his hands on Steve’s chest and shoulder, “Just a minute, then we—”

Once the plane stopped, Steve was up and out of his chair, crossing over to Tony to hold his hand again, despite the grumbling around him from the frantic paramedics. The world around him blurred as they started to move. He ignored everything around him, focusing only on pouring his love through their linked hands, hoping that Tony would just _open his eyes_ —

“Captain, we’re taking him back for an examination,” a doctor was saying to him, “You need to let go of him. You’re not helping by crushing his fingers—”

Steve immediately yanked away his hand, but he’d dealt with tamping down his strength around Tony for years, and upon realizing what had happened, tried to reach out again, only for Tony to be whisked back into the bowels of the hospital. Before he could body slam the doors down, Bucky and Rhodey were in front of him, muscling him down into a waiting chair. Bucky immediately took residence on Steve’s lap, refusing to budge even when Steve pushed on him.

“Cut it out, Stevie. You have to let the docs do what they do best. What if you holding them back made Tony hurt more, huh?” Bucky finally snapped, turning around to meet Steve’s eyes, “We know you’re worried. We’re _all_ worried. You’re not the only one who cares about him, stupid.”

“James,” Rhodey said quietly, “C’mon. Let’s go get something from vending, leave him alone for a bit. We need to make a few calls anyway.”

Bucky stared at Steve for a moment before carefully standing, grumbling as he followed Rhodey out of the waiting room. Steve watched them go, waiting until he was sure they were out of earshot to slump over and let the tears fall.

_God, Tony…_

He rubbed his forehead and left his hand over his eyes, pretending that his shoulders weren’t hitching with every sob that fell from his lips. Tony, _his_ Tony, was hurting and unconscious after going through God-only-knows-what-kind of torture for _months_. Trembling, Steve reached into his shirt to dig out his dog tags; he pulled them off to hold in his hands and thumbed between them to get to his wedding ring. With a quiet sniffle, he took the ring off the chain and slipped it onto his hand, flexing his fingers as they adjusted to the familiar weight. Just as he replaced his tags around his neck, one of the nurses quietly approached with a clipboard.

“You’re Mr. Stark-Rogers’ husband, yes?” she asked, carefully sitting down next to him, “Could you fill out this information for me?”

Steve sniffled and nodded, taking the clipboard and her offered pen. He clicked it and began to fill out the packet, momentarily thankful for his eidetic memory to be able to remember their healthcare information and social security numbers off the top of his head. It took the better part of an hour to finish the paperwork, giving him ample time to disassociate from the thoughts rattling around in his head. However, as soon as he returned the packet to the nurse and turned his back to the nurses’ station, his face crumpled and he broke, having to bite down on his bottom lip to keep from crying out loud. He wasn’t there when Tony needed him the most, _again_ , and now he was lying in a hospital bed, injured and barely alive and it was _his fault—_

“Hey, hey, none of that, now,” Rhodey said somewhere off to his left.

Strong hands settled on his shoulders and guided him back to his chair, pushing until he collapsed and sat. A water bottle and granola bar were put in his hands, but he knew that if he ate he’d just throw it back up. After a moment, Bucky’s face came into view, his eyes flicking back and forth, presumably examining each of Steve’s eyes.

“We got in touch with most of everyone. The only one in the area I could think of inviting was Peg, but I thought that might be too much. I set up a group chat so we can keep them updated with Tony’s condition, okay?”

Steve nodded, staring blankly back at Bucky’s concerned look. After a second, Bucky sighed and nodded, moving and sitting down. The three men sat together in the silent room, each in their own state of misery as the minutes ticked by in agony. Now, he wasn’t as religious as he once was, but as the waiting period hit the five-hour mark, Steve was starting to consider praying when the back doors flew open and various doctors streamed out, causing all three of them to fly up out of their seats.

“How is he?” Steve managed first, meeting the doctors halfway.

“He’s stable and should be waking up soon,” the one in the front said, “Now, there are a few things you should know before you go back and see him. Mr. Stark-Rogers has experienced a large amount of physical and emotional trauma. We’re…unsure of how mentally stable he will be when he wakes up. Now, when you found him, he was lucid, correct?”

“Yes, he said a few words before he passed out in the wreckage,” he answered nervously.

“That’s good. If he didn’t have amnesia then, he most likely won’t have it when he wakes up. He may be afraid, though. We’ll be monitoring the whole time, but if something happens, ring for the nurse and we’ll come running. Now, there’s one last thing to discuss, but we’d like to tell you privately, Captain, if that’s alright?”

Steve nodded and followed the team of doctors down into the hospital, sucking in a breath when they walked into Tony’s private room. He immediately went over to sit in a chair next to Tony’s bedside, scooping up his right hand to hold carefully between his own.

“It’s about the device in your husband’s chest,” a second doctor said, pulling the sheets down slightly to reveal the light, “We aren’t sure what it is, but it has certainly been medically implanted. That is, it isn’t necessarily a foreign object that should be removed. In fact, when we tried, he went into shock. We replaced it, and within seconds, his vitals returned to normal. When he wakes up, you need to ask him what it is. I’m no engineer, but I have reason to believe that Mr. Stark-Rogers made the device himself.”

Confused but content to have Tony back in his reach, Steve nodded and quietly asked the doctors for some privacy. They filed out and closed the door behind them, leaving the pair alone. Steve immediately moved up to sit on the edge of the bed, bringing Tony’s knuckles up to his lips to kiss each one, careful of the bandaging.

“God, honey, I’m so sorry,” he whispered, reaching down to cup Tony’s cheek and brush his thumb over his scraped cheekbone, “Look at you—I should have been there to protect you, this is all my fault, if I’d told you sooner you wouldn’t be in this mess—”

He choked on another sob and bowed his head, pressing Tony’s hand up against his face. Ignoring the tears that slid down his face, he pressed shaky kisses into his palm and down his wrist, comforting himself with the taste of Tony’s pulse under his lips.

_He’s alive, he’s alive and safe now, you’ve got him—_

“Steve?”

It sounded more like ‘eve’, but the wheezed groan still startled Steve, his tired eyes snapping up to meet hazy ones. Tony offered him a weak smile, pressing his hand into Steve’s face to try and give him some comfort. Immediately, the dam inside of him flooded and he began to cry, unable to stop the sobs from wracking his shoulders and squeezing every bit of breath out of his lungs.

“Shh, m’here, shh,” Tony mumbled, coughing heavily with the exertion, “S’okay, shh…”

He tried to blink away his tears, reaching over to the side table to grab the small cup of water with a straw to offer to Tony to drink. Somehow, he kept his hands steady enough so Tony could sip some of the water, helping to ease his cough.

“Thanks,” he said softly, squeezing the hand the Steve was still clutching at like a lifeline.

Once the cup was put back down and wasn’t in danger of being spilled, Steve leaned in to carefully draw Tony into his arms, burying his face in the other man’s neck. He sniffled and pressed a soft kiss to his skin, only starting to settle when he felt Tony’s hands move to his hair and back.

“Shh, _Steven_ , you gotta breathe, sweetie. I don’t want you to end up in one of these beds too.”

Steve huffed a laugh and pulled back, resting their foreheads together.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” he whispered, “I thought I was going to watch you die—this is the _second_ time I thought I was going to watch you die and there was nothing I could do, and it was all my fault—”

“Hey. None of that. It is _not_ your fault,” Tony said, starting to rub circles onto Steve’s back, “There’s a lot of people at fault, but not you. Never you, sweetheart. Besides, the people who did this are long dead.”

Steve pulled back and blinked, cocking his head at Tony’s sheepish smile.

“Tell me,” Steve said, “Please? I—I want to know it all. I want to know what happened. Why you were in that suit, why you—why you _glow_.”

He moved to put a hand on the light and Tony flinched, immediately causing Steve to retract. Before he could keep his face from looking disappointed, Tony grabbed his hand and slowly moved it back down to rest it on the object. He sucked in a breath and stared at the light spilling through his fingers, feeling the machine whir and tick under his hand.

“What?” he breathed, looking up at Tony with wide eyes.

“It’s called the arc reactor. It's basically a large magnet,” he explained, rubbing his thumb over Steve’s to try and help keep him calm, “When I first went to Afghanistan it was to show off a missile I’d recently developed. When—when we were traveling between sites, our caravan got attacked. I was the only—I was the only one who made it.”

Steve leaned in to kiss Tony, reaching up to cup his chin.

“You don’t have to tell me everything now, sweetheart. You only just woke up,” he said, his voice bordering on a croak, “You should rest, yeah? Get some sleep?”

“No. I want to tell you now while I’m pumped full of the good stuff. You know I’ll just weenie out later,” Tony said weakly, “Let me? Please?”

Unable to say no, Steve nodded, but he took his hand off the reactor, gathering both of Tony’s in his own.

“So…the caravan. I was the only one who made it out alive. We were attacked with—with my own weapons,” he continued, voice slightly strained, “I saw the logo before a bomb exploded next to me. Thankfully, I was wearing a bulletproof vest, but you know me, I think ahead for all that when designing those things. Shrapnel went into my chest. Next thing I knew, I woke up in a cave, in massive pain, then everything goes blank for a while. I ended up with a version of this, but it was attached to a car battery that I had to lug around. I was saved by a doctor that the terrorists had captured earlier—Yinsen. His name was Yinsen. He was supposed to escape with me, but—but—”

Steve brought Tony’s hands up and kissed his knuckles, giving him a moment to breathe and compose himself. He sucked down a few breaths and squeezed Steve’s hands in thanks before nodding and starting up again.

“I was tortured. They wanted me to build the new missile for them. Eventually, I agreed, but Yinsen and I came up with a plan. However, I had to fix up the reactor first. The battery was a liability we couldn’t afford.”

“Your plan was a flying suit?”

“My plan was a flying suit that also had working flamethrowers,” Tony corrected, grinning at Steve’s fond sigh, “It _worked_. At least, it worked enough to get me out of there. Yinsen—he never planned on leaving. They’d murdered his family and he had been planning to sacrifice himself for me the whole time so I could escape. Steve—”

“Oh, sweetheart, oh love,” Steve whispered, pulling Tony into a hug once his husband started to get choked up again, “I’m here, I’m right here, that’s enough for now, okay? No more, I want you to get _better_ , not relive what you just went through. You did so well, darling, you can rest now. I’ve got you.”

“Are you sure? I don’t—I can’t wake up again and have you not be here,” Tony confessed, fisting his hands into Steve’s tactical suit.

“I’m not going anywhere, and I’ll have Buck and James make a distraction if they try to get me,” Steve said, giggling when Tony lit up, “What? Of course they’re here, sweetheart. We already called the others and they’re on standby stateside. Once we get you feeling better and I chew out my superior, we’ll get on the plane to head home and get you tucked into your real bed. We can work from there, okay?”

Tony managed a nod and settled back down onto the bed, steadfastly ignoring the emotional tears that rolled down his cheeks as he let his eyes slip shut. Steve watched him for the better part of an hour, waiting until he was sure his husband was asleep before standing and heading for the door. Peeking out, he motioned to one of the nurses nearby and quietly asked her to bring both Bucky and Rhodey back. Once she was on her way, Steve quickly returned to Tony’s side, carefully picking his hand back up.

“How is he?” was the first thing out of Bucky’s mouth once both men entered the room, prompting a hush from Rhodey and a smack upside the head, “Ow!”

“He’s sleeping, but I doubt he’ll be out for long. The morphine made him talkative, but I doubt he’ll be as open once he’s coming off the meds,” Steve said quietly, nodding to the chairs on the other side of Tony’s bed for the men to sit in, “It’s…it’s bad. We need to talk to Fury, Buck. I want to have words.”

“I’m guessing you won’t lube your fist first? I don’t blame you,” Bucky said, propping his feet up on the bed, only to have Rhodey smack his legs, “Hey!”

“I’m sure Pepper will want to have words with whoever didn’t notify you,” Rhodey added, leaning forward to wipe away one of Tony’s stray tears with his thumb, “Hell, I’d like a piece of ‘em myself.”

“Oh, we’ll all get a turn. I’d love to let Bruce loose on him,” Steve said, smiling a bit at the thought.

It quickly dissipated as Tony hitched in his sleep, his brows furrowing and lips quivering in response to whatever kind of dream he was having. Steve quickly shushed him and rubbed his thumb at the worried crease, leaning forward to kiss the curve of his jaw until Tony settled again.

“Will he tell us what happened when he wakes up?” Rhodey asked after a moment.

“I don’t know,” Steve admitted, “I think he’ll have to, eventually. God, he’s going to hate having to go back to therapy and through routine doctor’s visits again.”

“I’ll let Pepper know to keep the usual on speed dial.”

He nodded, taking a deep breath to try and keep his righteous anger at bay. There was too much going through his head to really pin down any one thought. He was worried for Tony, frustrated that he hadn’t been able to prevent another time that his husband got hurt, pissed that Fury manipulated him and forced another stumbling block into their relationship—

“Steve, you’re shaking. C’mon, bud,” Bucky’s voice brought him out of his head, “That’s it. What’s going on up there?”

“I don’t know how to tell him, Buck. We have to. We have to tell him everything from the beginning. I’m sick and _fucking_ tired of Fury using us like marionettes, damn the consequences,” Steve growled, bringing Tony’s hand up to his lips to kiss gently.

“I agree. I wish I’d just let it slip all those years ago. Sure, I’d be in ocean jail, but at least we wouldn’t have to complicate shit when shit was already complicated.”

“What?” Rhodey interjected, clearly confused.

“You remember the incident? Junior year?” Steve asked, flushing a little under Rhodey’s glare, “Well, the summer before, Buck and I didn’t… _exactly_ go to boot camp. Sure, the paperwork says we did, but—”

“Steve’s health had gotten to a point that it was either sign up for shady experimental testing or die,” Bucky said, pretending to not see Steve’s face twist up and look away, “I wouldn’t let him do that shit _alone_. We got picked by a government entity called SHIELD to test a new serum they were creating that would create the perfect soldier. Unlimited stamina, speed, super strength, accelerated healing…. stuff like that. We came out the other side, but the facility wasn’t exactly…. equipped well. The power it needed to sustain itself ended up causing half the state to go black and blew itself up in the process. We quite literally crawled out of the burning wreckage and Fury, the director of SHIELD, called us just under two years later for deployment. Part of our contract was we had to say yes, no questions asked.”

“Wait, was that the Jersey incident?” Rhodey asked, clearly overwhelmed by the information, “Why the fuck would two Brooklyn boys even _consider_ going to Jersey?”

“Everything’s legal in New Jersey,” They said, earning a sigh from Rhodey.

“Alright. So, what, you’re jacked up now?”

“Yeah, and under threat of permanent detainment in the government’s strongest prison in the middle of the ocean if we tell anyone,” Steve said, “But they can fuck off. Tony deserves to know, he _should_ have known. I was going to have an elaborate proposal and a big honeymoon, but instead, I fucking _rushed it_ because Fury called. If I see that one-eyed fucker again, I’m going to rip out his other one and give him a makeshift third testicle.”

“Damn straight. Right behind you, Cap.”

Rhodey sat back in his chair, and after a second, began to giggle. He bowed his head forward to try and suppress it, but eventually, he gave way to the laughter, his legs kicking as he wiped away the tears that formed in his eyes. Bucky and Steve stared at each other, having a silent conversation about the mental stability of their friend.

“You both,” Rhodey managed, taking a deep breath before laughing again, “you both are _idiots_. Tony’s known since he could get his hands on his computer after he got out of the hospital, you _dumbasses!_ Holy shit, I can’t believe you guys waited so long to admit it—oh, he’s going to get a kick out of this when he wakes up—”

“What!” Steve nearly yelled, only to be hushed by Bucky.

“Steve, you had scoliosis and partial deafness from that time you got fucking scarlet fever. Then, magically, you grow over a foot and have no health problems? On top of it, you never let Tony attend any of your camp graduations or see your stripes. You should have seen his face when he realized he had actually managed to hack into the _Pentagon_ of all places. Of course, he was thrown by the information, but we talked it out and agreed that it was better to let you tell him on your own terms,” Rhodey explained, having finally settled from his laughter, “Man, that was _forever_ ago.”

“Oh my god,” Steve mumbled, covering up his face with his free hand in embarrassment, “Of course he’s known, he’s Tony, he’s so smart and perceptive about _everything_ , of _course_ he’s known we’ve been hiding this from him for, what, seven years?”

“Steve. It’s not your fault. You tried to protect him the best way you could and he knows that,” Bucky said, risking a glare at Rhodey, “At least the conversation we’ll have won’t be too bad.”

“He does love you, Steve,” Rhodey added, raising an eyebrow back at Bucky.

_For how much longer?_

He chose not to answer. Instead, he brought up Tony’s hand to rest the back of it against his cheek, stroking his arm with his free hand. Guilt wormed deeper into his brain as he felt how thin Tony had become, even in just his forearms. He had no doubt that if he were to see Tony nude, he would be a whisper of the bodily strength he once had. Starvation would do that to any man, something that Steve was well acquainted with. He closed his eyes and tilted his face in toward Tony’s hand, pressing a soft kiss to his wrist as if he could abate even a bit of Tony’s suffering with the affection. He continued his kisses down Tony’s arm, only to pull back when a soft noise from Tony made him freeze.

“I could get used to waking up like that,” he murmured, eyes unfocused and hazy, “I mean, I’d prefer it if you were kissing my—”

“Other people in the room,” Rhodey interrupted, smiling tiredly when Tony turned to gape at him, “Yeah. Hey, kid. Gave me quite a scare there, yeah?”

“Yeah, honeybear, I guess I did,” Tony choked out, reaching for him with his other hand to squeeze his hand, “Sorry ‘bout that.”

“Asshole,” Bucky said fondly, grunting as Tony bumped his foot from under the blankets, “Rude.”

“Missed you too, Buck,” he murmured, then after a moment’s pause, let a sleazy grin creep up onto his face, “Say, in captivity, we don’t exactly get the news. How’s Sam?”

Steve opened his mouth to warn Tony, but Bucky shook his head, clearing his throat.

“We’re on a break,” he said carefully.

“ _What?_ ”

Steve had to lunge forward to keep Tony down on the bed, pressing lightly on his shoulders. Tony merely waggled his eyebrows and winked up at him, grinning when Steve flushed.

“Tell me,” Tony urged, kicking Bucky’s foot again, “I need the hot goss. The four-one-one. The tea. I thought you were going to propose!”

“I was, but…something came up. We’re talking through it,” He sighed, patting Tony’s foot, “It’s just a little squabble. He’ll come around and see that I was right, then we’ll be back on track for a ring. I promise.”

“That doesn’t explain what happened, Barnes.”

“Tony,” Steve said warningly, but Bucky waved him off.

“So you know Sam’s paramilitary?” He started, grunting when Tony nodded, “Well, he doesn’t use a parachute. Turns out he flies with mechanical wings, like a fucking bird. He zooms around the air in a winged backpack invented by the _military_. I told him to ask you to make him a set that will make sure he won’t die, but he got huffy and told me I didn’t know what I was talking about and then left for a mission the next morning. I keep calling, but his second keeps picking up and telling me he doesn’t want to talk.”

“You knew he was sensitive about it, Buck,” Steve muttered, earning a smack from Tony.

“He’s right. If Sam’s out there, he should have the best of the best, which is, of course, invented by yours truly.”

“I don’t think you’re going to be inventing for a bit, T. This…this is a bad break,” Rhodey said quietly, “You need to rest and take a breather.”

It was silent for a moment. Tony sighed and shook his head, sitting up a little straighter.

“I can’t. I know I should but—I can’t. I can’t sit by knowing that there are people out there killing _our_ troops with _my_ weapons. I—I have to stop it, Rhodes,” he said softly.

He picked up Steve’s hand and squeezed it tightly; if he hadn’t had the serum, Steve probably wouldn’t have noticed that Tony was starting to shake.

“As soon as I can get the message to Pepper, I’m shutting down the weapons sector of Stark Industries and moving fully into green energy,” he continued, surprising all three men, “I already have the plans—the arc reactor is going to be the center of it all. It’s a little ironic, but it's sustainable. It _works_. I’ve already figured out a way to expand it to be able to power the Tower completely. It’ll take a few months, but—”

“Tony. Look at me,” Steve interrupted, attempting a comforting smile when worried brown eyes flickered over, “Are you sure this is what you want to do, sweetheart?”

“Yes,” Tony said without hesitation, “Absolutely.”

“Then I’m behind you. Whatever it takes, I’m with you ‘til the end of the line.”

He couldn’t suppress his smile when Tony beamed, squeezing his husband’s hand to convey his solidarity. Looking at the other two men, Rhodey and Bucky nodded their approval, making it a done deal.

“I’ll break the news since I need to call Pep about a few things anyway,” Rhodey said, standing and brushing off his uniform, “Once you’re stateside, she’ll hopefully have some projections. You know this won’t end well company-wise, right?”

“I’d rather lose the company than keep killing innocent people, Rhodes. I’m—I’m not Howard. I don’t _want_ to be Howard. I don’t think I could live with myself if I turned out to be like him—”

“Tony, love. You aren’t, and you never will be. You are so much more than he ever was,” Steve murmured, pointedly moving up to sit on the bed, resting a hand on Tony’s knee, “You couldn’t ever be like him, even if you _tried_. Since I’ve known you the longest, I’d like to say that I’m an expert, and therefore, you have to listen to me.”

Tony rolled his eyes, but squeezed his hand in thanks, turning his head to look at Rhodey and Bucky.

“Is there any reason you two are still here? I mean, its really great to see you both, and I love you both very much, but I’d like a handjob from my husband, so if you all could exit—”

Not even Steve’s exclaimed “Tony!” could keep Bucky from cackling in laughter, standing up to drag Rhodey out with a yelled “Have fun!” before the door swung shut.

“That is _not_ funny. You’re hurt, sweetheart, and I don’t want you to get hurt worse because you want to fool around,” Steve tried to scold, already feeling his resolve buckle under Tony’s pleading look, “Tony—I’m _serious_. You stop that right now.”

“But _Steve—_ I haven’t felt the touch of a man in many moons,” he started, only to yelp when Steve pinched his inner thigh, “Hey!”

“We can have fun once we’re home. I promise. Here—if you’re even feeling well on the plane, we can torture James squared with another entry into the Mile-High Club,” Steve compromised, “Okay? I just—I want to lay here with you and hold you for a while. I really thought I lost you, Tony. _Again_. I thought I’d lost you _again_. Watching you fall out of the sky for the second time and ending up in the hospital when I should have been to there to prevent it, or at least catch you—”

“Okay, okay, shhh, honey, don’t you start a panic, you don’t have your medication with you,” Tony shushed hurriedly, hearing Steve’s voice start to strain, “I’m right here, nice and alive, yeah? C’mon.”

Slowly, Tony moved over to one side of the bed, easily tugging Steve down to lay with him. He smiled when he chose to lay his head on Tony’s stomach, curling half of his body over Tony’s chest and legs. Tony combed his fingers through Steve’s hair and grimaced, flicking the sand off of his fingers and onto the floor.

“You need a shower,” he said, smiling when Steve giggled into his side, “You do. Maybe I can convince the nurse to let you join me?”

“In the morning, Tony.”

“Okay,” he said softly, attempting to relax his body as much as possible.

It seemed like the hours slogged on as Tony tried to sleep, but it was elusive, and he woke up every few minutes plagued with nightmares of the smell of piss and burnt flesh. Of course, he was used to keeping his body still whenever he woke up abnormally, but the rigidity didn’t go unnoticed by his new cuddle bug.

“Can’t sleep either?” Steve said sleepily, looking up at Tony and showing off the dark bags that had somehow appeared under his eyes.

“No,” Tony admitted, “It’s in my head.”

“Mine too,” Steve whispered, moving up to brush their noses together, “God, I’m so sorry, love. I’m so, so sorry—”

Tony kissed him to cut him off, reaching up to cup Steve’s cheek and gently thumb his cheekbone.

“Kisses for my lovely husband,” he murmured, grabbing Steve’s chin to force his head down to make eye contact, “I love you so much, okay? It’s just another step to take. We—we handled stuff before, together. We can do it again. I’m sure of it.”

“Right,” Steve confirmed, his smile finally reaching his eyes as he leaned in for another kiss, “Together.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing could keep me away from you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd. Comments and kudos are really appreciated. Ask me questions over @avengersasssemble on tumblr.com.

Tony’s first recovery had been a walk in the park compared to this.

Despite Steve’s repeated attempts to help Tony sleep for more than a half hour at a time, nothing seemed to work until pure stress and exhaustion knocked him out after a week of struggling. Then, just a little hour into his first real rest, Tony started to convulse on the bed, waking Steve up and forcing him to call the nurses, Bucky, and Rhodey when he couldn’t bring Tony out of the nightmare. It took all six of them to finally wake Tony up, and by that time, Tony had screamed himself hoarse and pissed himself out of fear. Rhodey, Bucky, and two of the nurses cleared out to give them space, but both Rhodey and Bucky agreed to wait outside.

Needless to say, Tony was thoroughly embarrassed, but Steve ignored it and hefted him up out of the bed once he was disconnected from the various machines placed around his bed. He easily carried Tony into the en-suite and set him down on his feet, hushing him when he started to complain.

“Tony, what matters right now is getting you cleaned up and back into bed,” Steve said patiently, stripping down as part of his plan to get Tony into the shower, “Alright? I just want you to be comfortable as much as possible, sweetheart. You just went through a traumatic experience. There is _nothing_ to be ashamed of.”

Sure, not the best pep talk to give when completely naked, but it hurried Tony along, right up until he needed to get under the spray.

“Is it too hot?” Steve asked, sticking his hand under, “It’s just like you like it. Do you want it differently? …Tony?”

He turned to find his husband cowering up against the wall, pale and looking more nauseous by the second. He immediately wrenched the water off, crushing the handle slightly in his haste to alleviate the situation.

“Oops,” he said, sighing in relief when Tony let out a small giggle, “Alright, new plan. Let’s try a sponge bath. If that’s still not working, we’ll just do spot cleaning, okay? Okay.”

Washcloth in hand, Steve held it up to the showerhead and got it wet, lathering it up with soap before carefully approaching Tony. Tony’s fearful eyes flickered between him and the cloth, but Steve knew better than to start with his face; he knelt down on the tile and picked up a foot, starting to scrub him down from the bottom up. It was a slow, tedious process, but he knew better than most what trauma could do to a man, and besides, it was _Tony_.

“You know that I would do anything for you, yeah?” Steve mentioned quietly, standing to wring out the washcloth and lather it up again before swiping it over Tony’s belly, “No matter how bad this is, or how bad your nightmares get, or if you end up wearing a catheter to bed because this becomes a permanent issue—I will _always_ be right there to help you and love you, Tones. Nothing could ever break that. When we got married, I made a promise in that little clerk’s office to love you, in sickness and in health, through the good and the bad…”

He smiled fondly as he reflected on the memory, moving behind Tony to start scrubbing down his battered back.

“You will always be the most important thing in my life, Tony. You are the love of my life, my _husband_ , my lovely little wife that I want to protect and treasure in my stupidly clumsy hands until this earth crumbles under us. No matter how bad you might feel, how depressed you get, how much you want to stay in bed and never move again, I will be right there with you to curl up with you and hold you and feed you until you feel like you can find the strength to move again. You don’t have to be strong, Tony. I can be strong for the both of us.”

Tony looked over his shoulder and up at Steve, his honey eyes filled with tears. He sniffled and nodded, a wobbly smile making a small appearance.

“I noticed,” he croaked, reaching up to poke Steve’s bicep.

Steve blinked, then laughed, turning Tony around to pull their bodies flush together so he could kiss him better. He pecked soft butterfly kisses all over Tony’s face before landing on his lips, languidly drawing out the affection.

“Rhodey told me you know,” he said between kisses, pulling back with a sheepish smile, “Buck and I were worried for so long, thinking we were going to get put away, and then he tells us you hacked into the Pentagon and figured it out yourself.”

“Are you mad?” Tony asked quietly, fidgeting as the water on his body began to cool.

“No. Relieved, actually,” he admitted, moving to rinse out the washcloth again, “We fought a lot over the years on how to tell you, _if_ to tell you…this is probably one of the best surprises we could have had. I mean, it doesn’t mean I’m not going to kick Fury’s ass once I get you tucked back home, but I’m really, really relieved. I should have known, y’know. You’re the smartest fella this side of the galaxy, of _course_ you knew.”

“Just the galaxy?” Tony teased, still eyeing up the washcloth every time it inched closer to him.

“I’m sure there’s an intergalactic alien somewhere that you could go toe-to-toe with.”

“I don’t want to touch _that_ particular statement.”

Steve laughed and resumed his task, having to press kisses all over Tony’s chest to distract him from the cleaning. Thankfully, the rest of him didn’t take very long to wash, and his anxiety had simmered down enough that he could stand under the shower to rinse out his hair. Once they were both dried and into new clothes and a new hospital robe, Steve picked Tony back up in his arms, ignoring his husband’s indignant grumbles. He carried Tony back to his freshly cleaned bed, unable to help himself from crawling into the bed and cuddling up.

“You should probably get the other two before they knock the door down,” Tony reminded him, earning a big pout from Steve, “What? You know I’m right. Well, okay, they can enter on their own time, I guess—”

Steve’s pout got bigger and moodier until Tony relented and rolled his eyes, making Steve beam and snuggle down onto Tony’s chest. Their moment alone was short-lived, considering that their ‘shower’ had taken forever, and Steve had elected to be cozy instead of useful.

“You better be dressed!”

Bucky’s voice filtered through the door before it was rudely kicked open and both men trudged in, taking their places in the chairs by the bed. Bucky snorted at the sight of them curled up together, but Rhodey paid it no mind, collapsing into the chair with a wheeze.

“Well, I talked to the nurses. Rumor is it the doctors will give you the all clear soon. I may have told them that we signed you up for therapy in the States already and that we need to get you home,” he said, smiling when Tony perked up, “Pepper will meet us when we land with fast food and the limo to take you all back to the Tower.”

“Finally,” Tony sighed, thunking his head back against the bed, “Hospital food is nasty, even across the pond.”

“That’s why I’m here,” Bucky said through a mouthful of red jello, “It’s better than RTE’s.”

“You’re still disgusting.”

“I take that as a compliment.”

“You really shouldn’t.”

“Shhh,” Steve shushed from Tony’s side, reaching up blindly to wave his hand at the others, “Tired. Sleep.”

“Sleep, love. I’ll wake you up when we’re getting ready to go to the airport,” Tony murmured, carding his fingers through Steve’s hair, “Okay?”

Steve managed a nod, but his tongue felt too heavy to speak. The toll of the week was starting to catch up to him and he knew he had to take care of himself in order to help take care of Tony. So, he tucked his head into Tony’s side and fell asleep. His respite didn’t last long, though; it felt like he’d just closed his eyes when Bucky was shaking him awake, laughing when he groaned and sat up to wipe the drool from his face.

“Tony?” he tried, his voice sluggish from sleep.

“In his wheelchair and waiting on you, princess. Ready to go home?”

Steve nodded and hefted himself up, momentarily concerned about not waking up when Tony had obviously moved to get out of bed, but he pushed the thoughts away, following Bucky like a lost puppy until they found Rhodey waiting with Tony. He immediately brightened and scampered to Tony’s side, eagerly picking up his hand to hold.

“Dork,” Tony teased, squeezing his hand, “Ready?”

“Been ready. I want my good sweatpants,” he admitted.

Tony laughed and the four were off, headed to a called car to take them to a private airstrip to board one of Tony’s private jets. Of course, Tony reminded Steve of his promise of the Mile-High Club, but from the looks they got from both Rhodey and Bucky, they ended up sprawled over a couch in the airplane, snoring away.

“They’ve always been disgustingly adorable,” Bucky commented, “Even when they were really little.”

“Oh?” Rhodey asked, passing Bucky a drink before getting one for himself, “Granted, I’ve only been here since Tony started college, and he never really talks about his childhood.”

“If I were him, I wouldn’t either. I’ve known that brat since he was in diapers and he’s always been stuck to Steve’s side, whether it be in class or on the playground. We used to call them Mom and Dad, it was so bad.”

“You still do, sometimes. It’s cute to see Tony pout at clearly being Mom and then relax when he sees how proud Steve looks,” Rhodey laughed.

“Yeah! It’s always been like that. Steve gives zero shits about what people think and Tony looks at him like he plucked the moon out of the sky and gave it to him. Y’know, I told him that once, and he told me that wasn’t possible because it would cause a gravitational shift or something-or-another. Steve just told him it was a nice thought, then proceeded to _make him_ a paper-mâché moon that was also a lamp. It was fucking cute,” he grumbled, eyeing up the sleeping couple.

“You want something like that, huh?”

After a momentary pause, Bucky gave a curt nod, dropping his chin to his chest.  

“Sam’s affectionate, but not like that,” he admitted, fiddling with the cap to his drink, “I try to be…romantic…but its definitely not my forte. I keep trying, though.”

“Have you talked to Sam about it?” Rhodey asked, “He might just not realize that you want to be wined and dined. There’s no shame in that, y’know. We also deserve to be treated like royalty. Not just Tony.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, but he considered it, nibbling on his lip as he thought.

“Talk to Sam,” Rhodey said gently, reaching over to squeeze Bucky’s shoulder, “Thankfully, he can’t read minds, but that does mean that if you want something you have to ask for it.”

“Since when did _you_ become the romance guru?” Bucky snorted, reaching up to pat Rhodey’s hand.

“Since Tony decided he wanted to dick down someone who broke his heart.”

It was quiet until Bucky cleared his throat, pretending that he didn’t see Steve’s shoulders tighten.

“You still hold that against him?” He asked carefully.

Rhodey sighed and shook his head as he leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Not really, but every time there’s even a small hitch in their relationship, I’m ready to call in favors,” he said softly, “Tony’s my best friend, man. He’s already been through— _going_ through so much shit. I’m fully prepared to drop the bomb if Steve even so much as combs his hair wrong, you know?”

“I think Steve would agree and happily take it from you. Nothing beats him up more inside than the fact that he’s failed Tony once and will probably fail him again, y’know? He’s never doubted loving Tony, he just didn’t really know what that meant until he nearly lost him. I don’t think he’d ever purposefully try to _hurt_ Tony, he just happens to be a big dense oaf sometimes. He’s genuinely so head over heels he has trouble thinking straight—no pun intended.”

Rhodey laughed at that, smacking his hand on his knee.

“I think I’d say the same about Tony,” he joked before becoming serious, gently nudging Bucky’s ankle, “Hey. You and Sam are like that too, y’know. Maybe not as ridiculously sappy, but the affection is genuine. Given that you’re both military, it’s obvious in how relaxed you both are once you’re around each other. If you ask Sam to be a goopy romantic, he’ll probably do it better than Steve until they’re both fighting over who’s a sappier partner.”

“Oh, don’t say that. I just want to play footsie at dinner, not take trips on the Falcon armor through Manhattan,” Bucky groaned, sinking in his seat with a pout, “Besides, we wouldn’t be able to beat Steve anyway, he’s a total—”

He trailed off as an idea came to him, his eyes widening as the plan slowly formed. He beamed and sat up, ignoring that he’d startled Rhodey.

“I know how we’re going to make them see like unromantic fools,” he said darkly, cackling to himself as he rubbed his hands together, “Oh, we’re going to give them a run for their money—”

Rhodey interrupted him with a startled laugh, making Bucky turn around to see Tony flipping him off from the couch. Bucky simply flipped it back despite knowing that Tony couldn’t see him.

“Why don’t we try and get some sleep ourselves?” Rhodey suggested, his lips quirking up, “We’ve got a few hours to kill before we land in New York, and if they decide to ignore our threats about the Mile-High Club, I’d rather be asleep.”

He looked at Bucky for confirmation, but the man had already fallen asleep, mouth open against his window. Shaking his head fondly, Rhodey stretched himself out and settled down, easily falling asleep as they moved on toward New York.

Of course, Steve woke up first, just before the pilot announced their descent and a reminder to fasten their seatbelts. With a soft smile, he gently roused Tony from his nap, kissing his forehead gently to help him adjust to his surroundings.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” he murmured, nosing at Tony’s hair, “Ready to face the day?”

“No,” Tony mumbled from Steve’s chest, smiling when he laughed deeply, “Okay, maybe a little. I’m ready to go home, for sure.”

“Good. Let’s go get the others up and buckle in, yeah?”

Steve helped Tony up and over to his chair before shaking the other two men awake and sitting in his own seat. He fastened Tony’s seatbelt before doing his own, gently patting his husband’s sprained arm.

“Did you tell Pepper to meet us with burgers?” Tony asked, kicking Rhodey’s leg, “I really want some.”

“I did, but don’t count on it. You need to eat basic staples until your stomach can adjust. You know this.”

Tony whined softly and turned his eyes to Steve, who merely pursed his lips and shook his head.

“Don’t you dare use your puppy dog eyes on me, mister. Once you can eat better, we’ll all go out as a big family and eat the greasiest burgers we can find, okay? Give us a few days to protect you and hold you,” he said, picking up Tony’s hand to kiss his knuckles, “Okay?”

“Oh, _fine_. That’s cheating, you know. I can’t put up a fight when you act like a big soft teddy bear,” he grumbled back, cupping Steve’s chin to run his thumb over his lips, “It’s quite rude, you know.”

“I’ll try to do it more often, then,” Steve said softly, a dopey smile filling his face.

The other two fake gagged and laughed, earning glares from both Tony and Steve.

“Ooooh, _Steve_ , you are _such_ a _prince_ ,” Bucky cooed, pitching his voice up and taking Rhodey’s hands in his own, “I can’t be- _lieve_ I’m married to a man like _you!_ ”

“Ooooh, _Tony_ , you say the _darn_ -dest things!” Rhodey cooed right back, also pitching his voice up as he attempted to not laugh, “I can’t be- _lieve_ I get to spend my life with _you!_ ”

They both cracked up and high-fived, wheezing their giggles as the plane touched down and slowed in front of Tony’s private terminal.

“We have shit friends,” Tony said, frowning as Steve unbuckled him and helped him into his wheelchair.

“Well,” Steve hummed, leaning down to whisper in Tony’s ear, “I really can’t believe I get to spend my life with you, love.”

Tony flushed bright red and sputtered, clapping a hand over his eyes as Steve wheeled him down and out of the plane; much to his horror, all of their friends were gathered and waiting for them, cheering as they appeared.

“Oh, you’re so getting it later,” he hissed up to Steve before the others would be able to hear them.

“I hope so,” Steve said quickly, only to turn and grin as Thor ran up to him, tackling him into a laughing hug.

Tony wanted to glare, but he tucked it down and smiled at the group, reaching his good arm up to accept Pepper’s teary hug.

“Hey, you,” he said, smiling and wiping away her stray tear as she pulled back, “Can’t get rid of me that easy, Ms. Potts.”

“I’d hope not, Mr. Stark-Rogers,” she sniffled, moving out of the way to let the others in.

Bruce was next, followed by Natasha, Clint, and Sam, who looked a little more flushed than the others. Tony tried to sneak a glance at Bucky, but he’d already stolen Sam back, leaving Tony to accept wet hugs from the rest of their friend group.

“C’mon guys, give him a little space,” Steve finally said once he could see Tony getting twitchy, “Let’s get him back to the Tower and we can all hang out.”

“We all came over in the limo. Is that okay, or would you like your own car, Tony?” Pepper asked.

All eyes turned to Tony, but before he could say anything, Steve answered for him.

“I thought I’d drive him myself. Get a little more personal time in before you vultures steal him away,” he tried to joke, but the hint of seriousness was there, making the others nod.

Tony waved at them as they headed off, reaching up to place a hand on Steve’s hand curled around the handle of his chair.

“Ready?” he asked softly, looking up at Steve.

Steve gave him a weak smile and nodded, starting to push Tony down toward the garage. He chose one of Tony’s favorite Audis to take, first helping Tony into the passenger seat before tossing the folded-up chair in the back. He slid into the driver’s seat and turned on the car, looking over to try and give Tony a comforting smile. As soon as he met Tony’s concerned eyes, Steve burst into a heaving sob, easily moving when Tony pulled him across the median with one arm.

“I know. I know, sweetheart. I’m here. I’m right here, my love. I’m safe, I’m not going to leave you,” Tony whispered, rubbing Steve’s back one-handed and tucking his face into Steve’s neck, “Everything is going to be okay, baby. I promise. Nothing is going to take me away from you. Never again. I won’t let them, my love.”

“I thought I’d lost you again,” Steve managed through his tears, rubbing his face against Tony’s neck, “When I pulled that helmet off—my world fell apart. I thought—”

He pulled back and wiped at his face, coughing and sniffling as he tried to compose himself.

“I thought I’d just watched you die. Again. _Again_ , Tones. And every—every goddamn time this happens all I can think of is—is how much I love you, and how I don’t know how I’m going to live without you,” he sobbed, breath hitching throughout his admission, “I _need_ you, Tony, I need you like air in my lungs and feeling you go limp was just—”

“Hey, hey, shhh, you’re going to throw yourself into a panic attack,” Tony interrupted, “C’mon. Breathe, Steve. In and out. I know that nice government juice took out your asthma and shit, but your brain can still go into hyperdrive. Still, let’s not talk about that right now, let’s get you into a better space so we can go home and cry over how much we love each other and how traumatic all this shit has been in _our_ bed in matching pajamas,” he said quickly, already seeing the talk forming on Steve’s lips, “Okay? Yeah? I know I’ve scared you more times than you care to count, sweetheart. But, as you can see, I am quite _literally_ ticking right in front of you. Flesh and blood, right here for you to touch and hold to your heart’s content. I’m sure after a nicely worded letter from Pepper, Fury will give you well-deserved leave for a few years. I missed my trophy husband waiting for me in our bed, yeah?”

He smiled when Steve managed a watery laugh, digging out a tissue from the glove box so he could wipe Steve’s face.

“That’s it, that’s my husband, nice and easy,” Tony soothed, “Better? Yeah? A little bit?”

Steve nodded and sat back in his seat, coughing once more for good measure. He sniffled and grunted, rolling his eyes when Tony giggled next to him.

“It makes me feel so much better when you cry, y’know. Considering that I am the more emotional one of the two of us, seeing my big, burly army boy shed a few shiny ones really solidifies my masculinity,” he joked, grinning as he leaned over and pursed his lips.

“You’re ridiculous,” Steve murmured, leaning over to meet Tony’s lips with his own.

They exchanged a few soft kisses until Tony had to pull away with a soft whine, unable to look away from Steve’s plump and red lips.

“Home. Now. We haven’t had a good I’m-glad-you’re-alive fuck in _months_ ,” he demanded, grinning at Steve’s hearty laughter, “C’mon, pedal to the metal, chop chop—”

“Sir yes sir, keep your pants on,” Steve snorted, finally backing out of the garage to speed down the road toward Stark Tower.

Of course, Tony spent the whole ride re-sharpening his dirty talk skills, being quite pleased with himself to see that he still had it, despite his momentary one-star vacation to Afghanistan. He wanted to give Steve road-head, but was firmly told no. Instead, Steve held his hand until they finally pulled into their home, at which Steve squeezed his hand and let go.

“Upstairs?” Tony asked hopefully, beaming at Steve’s flushed nod as he attempted to get out of the car and also hide his arousal, “You could carry me and we can just have someone else come get the ch—”

Before he could finish the suggestion, Steve had unbuckled him and tugged him into his arms, holding Tony up by his thighs as he stumbled them both into the elevator. They both had a thought about the potential repercussions about getting down and dirty right away, but addiction has a habit of pushing away rational thought, which meant that Tony was too busy sucking on Steve’s tongue for him to hold back. The elevator took too damn long to get up to the penthouse, but eventually the doors opened, and they managed to force themselves out, both already untucked from their pants to provide a little relief.

In the rush to fuck, they’d both forgotten that they’d agreed to meet everyone on their floor, which meant they both skidded to a halt in their living room, out of breath and flushed, dicks on full display for their entire graduating high school class to see, plus Rhodey. Everyone was silent for a few awful seconds, staring, while both men were frozen to the spot. That is, until Natasha held up her phone and the camera shutter went off, impossibly loud in the dead silence.

Tony shrieked first, which snapped Steve out of it, immediately scooping him back up and sprinting to their bedroom. The group collapsed into raucous laughter in the background with cat-calls thrown into the mix. The noise continued until both men reemerged, dressed in loose clothing and clearly over their momentary need.

“Damn, Steve, you’ve _come_ a long way from middle school—oof!” Clint grunted when Bucky elbowed him, only to be high-fived by Scott for the pun.

“I think rabbits are less horny, guys,” Bruce snorted, “You couldn’t have waited?”

“The dick wants what the dick wants,” Jane said faux-sympathetically, not looking as she high-fived Natasha in front of her.

“We have great friends,” Tony muttered as the others went around the room, chiming in their own bad jokes and jeers.

“You know, we really do,” Steve admitted, slipping a hand into Tony’s back pocket, “We really, really do.”

Before they all could get any further in the teasing, a loud chime from overheard signaled an incoming video call. They all looked around and Clint began to count, but everyone was in attendance, putting the army people on high alert.

“Patch them through, JARVIS,” Tony called to his AI, only to gasp when a familiar face popped up in full HD on his television.

“Fury,” Steve said coldly, stepping in front of Tony protectively, “What the _fuck_ do you want?”

“At ease, Captain. I have a message for all of you, not just your husband,” Fury answered, clearly unimpressed with Steve’s display.

“What could SHIELD want with us?” Pepper asked, standing from her seat.

Fury’s one eye glanced around the room and settled on Tony; a small smirk tugged up the corner of his lip, causing Steve to tense up.

“I’m here to talk to you all about the Avengers Initiative.”


End file.
